Check out this video that shows the making of the Lydian Drakon for the film Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. He actually never made it in the film, but according to what is stated below, that was probably a good thing for purists of the book.

Here’s look at the development of the Lydian Drakon character for the film PERCY JACKSON: SEA OF MONSTERS. The concept started as a scary 6’5″ frilled lizard man and became a 4’6″ comedic sidekick. The character continued to shrink until it wasn’t in the movie at all. That doesn’t negate the precise sculpture ADI’s Aki Ikeda, the paint scheme of Mike Larrabee and the application by Bill Terazakis’ talented Canadian makeup crew featuring Maiko Gomyo, who herself is no bigger than your thumb.

Sure, for those that are caught up on The Heroes of Olympus series, we’ll still have to wait until October 2014 for the final book of the series to be released. But lo and behold, a couple of months before that, Rick Riordan’s PJ-related side project, Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods, will be available in August 2014.

A quick update on Percy Jackson\’s Greek Gods, my collection of original Greek myths told from Percy Jackson\’s point of view. The US release date has been set for Tuesday, August 19, the day after Percy\’s birthday! Book releases are always slated for Tuesdays, for sales and marketing reasons I do not pretend to understand, so that\’s the closest date we could make it. No word on release dates in other countries yet. I don\’t usually get that information, but if I do, I will let you know.

Today, Rick Riordan released the cover to a companion novel to the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series.

From Rick Riordan’s Website:

Who could tell the origin stories of the gods of Olympus better than a modern-day demigod? Percy Jackson provides an insider’s view with plenty of ‘tude in this illustrated collection.

A publisher in New York asked me to write down what I know about the Greek gods, and I was like, Can we do this anonymously? Because I don’t need the Olympians mad at me again. But if it helps you to know your Greek gods, and survive an encounter with them if they ever show up in your face, then I guess writing all this down will be my good deed for the week.

So begins Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods, in which the son of Poseidon adds his own magic–and sarcastic asides–to the classics. He explains how the world was created, then gives readers his personal take on a who’s who of ancients, from Apollo to Zeus. Percy does not hold back. “If you like horror shows, blood baths, lying, stealing, backstabbing, and cannibalism, then read on, because it definitely was a Golden Age for all that.”

Dramatic full-color illustrations throughout by Caldecott Honoree John Rocco make this volume–a must for home, library, and classroom shelves–as stunning as it is entertaining.

Rick Riordan has released a deleted scene from PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS: THE LAST OLYMPIAN!

The scene focuses on Percy Jackson encountering his childhood nemesis, Nancy Bobofit, unconscious in Manhattan when Morpheus puts the city to sleep just before Kronos’ attack.

The lights of the city were blinking on. I guess they were on automatic timers. The streetlamps in the park glowed, making the lanes and the trees look spooky – like we needed any more spookiness.
Thalia stopped and tensed, like she was catching a scent. “I’ll be back. Need to check the Hunters on the right flank.”
Her bow appeared in her hands and she disappeared into the trees.
We stepped over bodies of sleeping New Yorkers, moving them to safety when we could. We were just coming to a stone bridge on the northern side of the park when we came across a dozen kids, all slumped next to a pretzel stand, like they’d been lined up to buy snacks.
Grover yelped. “Percy . . . look.”

On DVD Releases reports that PERCY JACKSON: SEA OF MONSTERS will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 17 in US.The movie will be available in digital format on iTunes and Amazon two weeks earlier on December 3!

The Blu-ray edition will contain several special features, including a Tyson Motion Comic, Collectible Character Cards, Back To Camp-Half-Blood, It’s All In The Eye, and Deconstructing a Demigod.

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